“THE JOY OF OUR SALVATION”
ACTS 3:1-11

I. Introduction
Have you come to saving faith in Jesus Christ? You have? There is great joy in it, isn’t there? But do you find that the cares, the worries, the troubles, the pains, and even the perse-cutions of this life sometimes rob you of that joy? If they do, you are not alone. I struggle with those things as much as any of you struggle with them.

But why do we struggle so? I would suggest to you that one reason is because we too often allow ourselves to think that the things of this present age – temporal things – are just as im-portant as the things of the age to come – eternal things. And as we battle our own flesh and the fallen world around us, we can easily lose the joy of our salvation. Oh, it’s still there; it’s just buried under the weight of this world, and we lose sight of it.

John R. W. Stott, the twentieth century English theologian and pastor, tells the story of a Sal-vation Army drummer who was beating his drum so hard that the band leader had to tell him to pipe down a bit and stop making so much noise. In his cockney accent the drummer replied, “God bless ye, sir, but since oi’ve been converted, oi’m so ‘appy, oi could bust the bloomin’ drum!”

Do you possess such joy? Do I? If not, why not? We should, you know. But, you say, “What if I’m anxious? What if I’m fearful?”
*Isaiah 35:4-6a
4 Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, but He will save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
6a Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will shout for joy.

You say, “Sure, but that’s a promise God made to Israel for the Millennial Kingdom.” Yes, it is. But it’s also for every true believer of this age. We know that because Jesus said it was. When the Lord’s cousin, John the Baptist, was imprisoned for his faith, he began to fall into discouragement. He began to lose the joy of his salvation. As a result, even John’s faith began to waver. So Jesus reminded him of the truths we just read in Isaiah 35.
*Matthew 11:2-5
2 Now when John in prison heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples,
3 and said to Him (Jesus), “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “God and report to John what you hear and see:
5 The blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”

Today’s text in Acts introduces us to a beggar who was lame from birth – a man whom you might say was “short-changed” by this world. His temporal condition was worse – far worse – than that of any of us. Yet by the time we come to end of this morning’s text, he will have everything he needs. Will he be rich and famous and powerful? No, he won’t be any of those things. But he will be saved! And the joy of his salvation will be evident to all.
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II. Review
On the Day of Pentecost Peter preached his first sermon. In it he identified Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and called his hearers to repentance and faith. No less than three thousand souls responded and trusted in Jesus. Thus the first church was established. Acts 2:42 tells us that the new believers “…were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” And in v. 47 Luke says “…the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
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III. Text
That brings us to today’s text. Exactly how much time has elapsed since that Day of Pente-cost is not clear, but it really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the first church began to be populated with a great number of new believers. What follows is an example of what Luke reported back in v. 43 – “And everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.”
*Acts 3:1-11 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.
2 And a certain man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.
3 And when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.
4 And Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze upon him and said, “Look at us!”
5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene – walk!”
7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
8 And with a leap, he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the tem-ple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God;
10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
11 And while he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.

Before we look into the details of this passage I want us to take a bit of a detour, if you will. I want to say a few things about false teachers and the so-called healings and miracles that are so blatantly claimed by so many in the church today. They say they represent God, they use Jesus’ name, and they claim power which they do not have. Nonetheless, they deceive countless people and do great harm to the cause of Christ. In His teaching on the last days Jesus said they would do just that.
Matthew 24:11, 24-25
11 “And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many.”
24 “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.
25 “Behold, I have told you in advance.”

In Acts 20:29 the Apostle Paul called false teachers “savage wolves.” In Titus 1:10 he said they were “rebellious men, empty talkers, and deceivers.” And listen to what he said about false teachers to the church at Corinth…
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as ser-vants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds.

Paul pulls no punches when he warns of false teachers in the church. But Peter, the apostle who actually performed the first miraculous healing in the church, has even more to say.
*2 Peter 2:1-3
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even de-nying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;
3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

In vv. 4-9 Peter goes on to detail their judgment and destruction. In the rest of 2 Peter 2 he describes their character, and says, in v. 21, “For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy com-mandment delivered to them.”

Listen, Christian, you and I are called to discernment! The Apostle John pleads with us when he says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).”

What was the gift of healing that Jesus’ apostles exercised in the early church? It was God’s “stamp of approval” upon those men who represented Him. It validated and confirmed that what they would say, what they would teach, and what they would ultimately write, was from God Himself. It was they, and those who would follow them – men like John Mark, Luke, Paul, James, and Jude – that would write the NT you hold in your hands today.

So how can you tell, especially when some of today’s false teachers are particularly crafty? First, foremost, and always, you need to know your Bible. In doing so you will learn to spot much of what passes for miraculous healing today as little more than clever fakery. And, I believe, that at least some of it is demonic activity. With regard to the miraculous “faith-healing” of today, here are five things to keep in mind.

1. Much of it is outright fraud. Countless faith healers have been exposed as nothing more than charlatans. Many have been shown to be little more than expert manipulators of peo-ples’ emotions. Such healings are short-lived. Then there are those who are “healed” of some psychosomatic issue that is impossible to verify.

But Jesus’ apostles healed like Jesus healed. They gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and cured leprosy on the spot. In today’s passage in Acts they healed a man who had never walked and he leapt for joy. They even raised the dead. Let’s see some faith healer try that!

2. It would be naïve for us to assume that Satan and his demons cannot produce counterfeit healings. This will be especially true at the end of the age when the Antichrist comes on the scene. Listen to Paul…
*2 Thessalonians 2:8-12
8 And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to end by the appearance of His coming;
9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,
10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false,
12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

As Christians we must be constantly aware of Satan’s ability to deceive. “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).”

3. Some Christian leaders teach that the early church was a miracle-working church. At first glance that seems to be true. But it really isn’t. It wasn’t a miracle-working church. The new Christians weren’t going through Jerusalem emptying out hospitals and cemeteries. The early church was planted and led by miracle-working apostles. The miracles the apostles performed authenticated them. And by the end of the first century – by the time they had passed from the scene – the Scriptures they had written were all the authentication anyone would need.

4. Today’s faith healers often tell people they can be healed if they just have enough faith. Then, if they aren’t healed the people are told it is because they don’t have enough faith. That’s very convenient for the faith healer because failure isn’t his or her fault – it is the “patient’s” fault.

5. This last point is easy to miss, but it is important. It wasn’t faithful believers who were being healed – it was unbelievers! That’s the case in Acts 3, 5, 8, 19, and 28. If there is an exception, it might be the healing of Aeneas in Acts 9. But he is never called a Christian or a believer. He is merely referred to as “…a certain man (v. 33).”

And one more thing – isn’t it interesting that the Apostle Paul himself couldn’t heal the ill-nesses of two believers who were very close to him?
1 Timothy 5:23
23 No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
2 Timothy 4:19-20
19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
20 Erastus remained at Corinth, but Trophimus I left sick in Miletus.

The fact is that God still heals whomever, however, wherever, and whenever He chooses. He does it all the time. Some of those healings truly are miraculous. But most of them are explainable through the use and application of modern medicine. Ask yourself this: Is mod-ern medicine any less a miracle because we credit science with finding a particular cure? The cure was always there, wasn’t it? And at some point in time God allowed it to be dis-covered and utilized.
Whether God heals through what we call miracles or through modern medicine, the thing we need to remember is that God heals.
Deuteronomy 32:39
39 “See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; it is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded, and it is I who heal; and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”

Now with all of that firmly in mind, let’s move on to today’s text in Acts.
*Acts 3:1-3
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.
2 And a certain man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being car-ried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.
3 And when he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.

Peter and John were “fishing buddies.” At least they were partners in a fishing business before the Lord called them to follow Him. Along with John’s brother James, they were the three men who were closest to Jesus during the three years of His ministry. So finding Peter and John together in the temple is not at all surprising. The “ninth hour” is 3:00 pm.

This man who was “…lame from his mother’s womb” was in a desperate state. The doctors of his day could do nothing for him. Humanly speaking, he was in a hopeless situation. He could not work for a living so his family or friends would bring him to the temple when the most people would be going in and out in the hopes that the multitudes would take pity on him and give him some money.

To put this in perspective, he is either sitting or lying on the ground outside the doors of the church, begging. Of all the places to beg alms the temple was the best spot because people might be in more of “a giving mood” on their way into the temple. By the way, alms or almsgiving are simply what we give to charity. The word comes from the Greek root that means “pity” or “mercy.”

In Acts 3:3 the lame beggar sees Peter and John and he calls out for alms.
*Acts 3:4-8
4 And Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze upon him and said, “Look at us!”
5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene – walk!”
7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
8 And with a leap, he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the tem-ple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

The lame beggar obviously expected some money from the two apostles. What else? What else could anyone do for him? The first few words of Peter’s answer in v. 6 – permit me to paraphrase – “We don’t have any money to give you…” must have seemed like a cruel trick. But the beggar couldn’t even imagine what was about to take place. It is what Peter said next that changed his life forever. “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene – walk!”

Saying “In the name of Jesus…” is not just something we say as a magic formula at the start or end of a prayer. Using Jesus’ name is to invoke His character, His power, His authority, and even His will. The point is that Peter is turning to Christ in order to accomplish the will of Christ. This is why we pray in Jesus’ name. We cannot tell God what we expect of Him and use Jesus’ name to get what we want. When we use Jesus’ name we are asking Him to do His will, not ours. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!”

Here in Acts 3:6-7 it is solely God’s will, unleashed by the power and authority of Jesus’ name, that this beggar is raised to his feet. This is genuine miraculous healing. It is unex-pected, it is immediate, it is instantaneous, and it is complete. You will never find a gradual or what is sometimes called a “progressive healing” in the Bible. God heals or He doesn’t. God raises the dead or He doesn’t. And God saves or He doesn’t. No one is partially saved!

Look at v. 8. Does this beggar – who has never taken so much as one step – need to be taught how to walk? Does he need to find his balance or coordination? No, he does not. He is completely and perfectly healed. He walks, he leaps, and along with Peter and John, he enters the temple, and he praises God. At this point we might be tempted to ask, “I can see that the beggar is physically healed, but how do I know that he is saved, spiritually healed?”

Let me go back to the passage from Isaiah that I read at the beginning. It speaks of God’s salvation and the believers’ response to it.
Isaiah 35:4-6a
4 Say to those with anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, but He will save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.
6a Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb will shout for joy.

This is precisely the terminology Scripture uses to describe the beggar. He is healed both physically and spiritually. He has come to saving faith. His praise is that of a Christian.
*Acts 3:9-11
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God;
10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
11 And while he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.

This beggar’s praise is heartfelt, genuine, and public. His praise is a powerful testimony to the work of Christ. Everyone around him sees it. And it would have a significant impact on the most devout Jews who witnessed it because they knew the OT taught that miraculous healings would be one of the signs that their Messiah had come. How does Peter react to all of this? He prepares to preach his second sermon. But that’s for next time.
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IV. Conclusion
What can you take from today’s passage on the first miraculous healing in the church? Why not consider the miracle of your salvation? It is a far greater miracle than healing lame legs.

The beggar was physically lame from his physical birth. Unless God intervened, he would never walk the streets of this earth. You and I were spiritually lame from our physical birth. Unless God intervened, you and I would never walk the streets of heaven.

What could the beggar do to change his situation? He could beg, but only God could change it. What could you or I do to change our situation? We could try religion, self-improvement programs, and good works. But the Bible that says “…all our righteous deeds are like a fil-thy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away (Isaiah 64:6).” So we have come to learn that only God can change our situation, and we cry out for mercy.
Titus 3:5
5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.

Listen, Christian, we should be as excited about the miracle of our salvation as the beggar in Acts 3 was about the miracle of his healing. I understand that some of us may not be very good at leaping any more. But you can leap in your heart, can’t you? The beggar’s healing was unexpected, immediate, instantaneous, and complete. And your salvation was unexpec-ted, immediate, instantaneous, and complete. We’ve seen how he responded to what God did for him. How are you responding to what God has done for you?

I want to close by reading from three passages that remind us of what God has done for us.

*Ephesians 1:3-5
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will…

*2 Peter 1:2-3
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.

*1 Peter 1:8-9 (We’ll end precisely where Isaac started us this morning)
8 …and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

“The joy of our salvation!”

~ Pray ~